Airship terminal



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April 8, 1930.

April'8, 1930.Y y G. BETANCQURT y 1,753,592

AIRsHIP TERMINAL v Filed May 9, 1927 2 sheets-sheet 2 T5. I v/0 VENTOR IN z/b'er? 1362022 cou r? Patented Apr. 8, 1.930

' UNITED A STATES PATENT OFFICE GILBERT BETANCOURT, Of DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T AIRCRAFT DEVELOP,- MENT CORPORATION, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN AIRSHIP TERMINAL Application med Hay 9, 1927. Serial No. 189,962.

This invention relates to an airshp terminal, and among its objects are the provision of suitable tower to which one Vor more airships may be temporarily moored by the bow and permitted to swing by-the-wind, to provide coordinated facilities to' handle passengers to and from airships so moored in con]unction with land'traiiic bringing the passen ers to the terminal and to provide all of the acilities necessary or desirable for the accommodation at the terminal associated with the mooring tower for passengers and terminal organization, for the most convenient handling of passengers and goods as may v be required for a depot or terminal. It will `be noted that the entire terminal aims to accommodate all of the necessary or desirable requirements as hereinafter more fully de` scribed, and in particular to provide fea 2o tures of mooring of airships to assure their adjust-ability with respect to the mast both as to elevation and swinging by-the-wind,

,and the adjustment of communication between the tower and the airships, all as hereinafter more particularly set forth.

One embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. I is a side elevation of the complete terminal and mooring tower showing two airships moored thereto, and illustrating how the dip of one ship, shown dotted, is accommodated owing to the characteristics of my moorin tower and equipment.

Fig; gIl' is a side elevation, von enlarged scale, of the top mooring station, fragmentary, with a portion of an airships bow.

Fig. III is an enlarged side elevation of a second mooring station on the tower, fragmentary, with a portion of a ships bow shown as moored thereto.

The air shi terminal as shown in elevation in Fig. has the tower portion 1 surelevators can run down even to a subway, if desired, in case my terminal is built where it taps various-forms of city traiiic. One of my designs aims to provide such a terminal at the lower end of Central Park, New York, with subway connections east and west, in a manner that would be ornamental to the location` without in any way interfering with the surrounding surface of the park, and still accessible for road and track vehicles for the traffic to and from the teminal.

These lower floors would accommodate waiting rooms and any usual or desired service equipment, with the ticket office and Customs service'preferably on the upper lioor, so that it will be closest to the ships and to the incoming trafiic for the convenience of passengers and officials. Likewise the meteorological and aeronautical operating service would be accommodated in the tower base, 0r at other places where observation would be required, with, of course, suitable guiding lights for aircraft.

In a particular design I contemplate a tower of one thousand feet in height with accommodations to moor one ship at approximately that elevation, while provision is also made for the mooring of a second ship at an a proximate altitude of six hundred feet.

T us the terminal would be in the nature of a monumental structure, and, as shown, would be an artistic architectural edice besides its particular utility as a terminal and mooring tower for its primary purpose. It would also serve for observation, and in general design and monumental character has in part been aimed as a memorial to the great tower builder Gustave Eiffel, and, on the other hand the great rigid airship builder Count von Zeppelin.

The particular features of construction being the combination of a combined terminal with special advantages for all of the businessrequirements, and the connections for embarking and disembarking from airships and the' mooring of the ships and interconnections with the tower for the loading and unloading of passengers, supplies and frei ht. Y

T us the topmost mooring comprises a ring structure 8 secured and rotatable around a section of the tower and having means for permitting vertical adjustment. .Suitable shi nose mooring 9 connects the alrship 10 with this rotatable and vertically adjustable ring. At a suitable distance below the ring is a balcony or annular rotatable platform 11 with means adapted to support an extensible gan ay 12 adapted to engage and be temporari y secured at 13 with the forward cabin 14 of the airship. As airships of different sizes and dimensions will be accommodated, the platform 1l suitable for passengers and crew, may be at a fixed elevation, so that the gangway 12 will reach without undue inclination the forward hatch or port of the ships cabin, but in view of the likely difference in height between the cabin hatch and the nose orbow mooring point, the mooring ring 8 is adjustable for height and thereby 'accommodates different ships, and also provides for the accommodation of vertical adjustability of the mooring point relative to the cabin connection as the ship dips, or conversely as the stern rises or falls due to variation of trim. I provide for the nose coupling adjustability for different sizes of ships or for different conditions when moored, because such mooring point may be more readily adjusted than 1t would be possible to adjust or vary the height of the platform with its suitable accommodations for persons, and

for freight or supplies being unloaded or awaiting embarking. The gangway 12 has extensible members so as to va within limits the distance from tower loa ing platform 11 and the shi s cabin, and in the form shown this prefera ly is a series of lattice 15 capable of contraction for housin it against the tower platform, or for expan ing and contraction when connected with the ship, and may be duringthe operation suitably supported from the ships mooring ring 8 so as to carry the load of the gangway 12 until it is connected with the ship. VHowever, lines may be cast from the ship and the gangplank drawn aboard for connection, with suitable construction throughout to accommodate the longitudinal flexibility and slight lateral flexibility. As the ship swings by-the-wind the mooring ring 8 accommodates this, and simultaneously the gangway and passenger platform 11 swings so as to provide uninterrupted communication to the shi Iliithe case of mooring gear for a second ship, it will be noted, as shown, that airship 10 is moored further down the tower and at a level in the range of six hundred feet approximately, when the upper ship is moored at an elevation of one thousand feet. It will be understood that mooring accommodations will in the future be required for ships of different lengths, and the relative position of different mooring gear on the tower will be determined by the requirements depending upon the size of ships to be accommodated. While there may be more than two mooring positions or at least passenger `landing accommodations on the tower, the ships bow mooring connection will be varied by being adjustable for height to accommodate not alone size, but also the probable variation in the shape of the ships bow which may cause the nose to be moreor less higher than the cabin, and the design of the cabin may in addition varying dimensions, all of which will be duly accommodated.

As shown, a second mooring point ou the tower includes the ring 16 with nose mooring coupling 17 connecting with the ships nose 9. A platform 18 has aircxtensible gangway 19 to connect with the ships cabin 14.

For a portion of the tower the outer mem`- ing by-the-wind, and the lower portion of the tower constitutes a building in fact with ample accommodations for the business involved at such a station or terminal, and accommodations for the passengers, and also may connect with surface traffic facilities admirably suited to bring land conveyances by surface or subway to the terminal, and with elevator connection throughout the different levels to provide all desired conveniences and all the requirements of a terminal for airships. Y

While many variations may be made without departing from m invention, and obviously dimensions will be varied in each case to suit circumstances, details of structure for proper resist-ance of loads and strains, particularly incident to the lateral tug of ships, will be suitably accommodated without disturbing the stability of the terminal in its other respects, but what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An airship mooring tower having a plurality of mooring stations at widely different elevations, one above the other, whereby the same tower may moor at the same time a plurality of ships, means for limited adjustability of height for each of the mooring means on the tower and a rotary loading platform at each ata fixed elevation.

2. In an airship mooring tower a plurality of rotatable bow mooring connections, a loadfrom the loading platform for variable distance engagement with the moored ship.

3. An airship terminal comprising a tower self-supporting without outside guys to interfere with an airship swinging completely around the same, a moorin ring rotatably supported around the outsi e of said tower and means of support therefor adapted for limited vertical adjustment, a rotary platform supported below said mooring ring having variable means for connection with the ship, and adapted to swin with said connections simultaneously wit the mooring ring around the tower.

4. A mooring tower for airships having a plurality of loading platforms, spaced substantially apart vertically and each having 'mountings permitting rotation about the tower, a ships vertically adjustable mooring connection above each of said mooring platforms and simultaneously rotatable around 'the tower.

5; An airship mooring terminal having a plurality of mooring stations at different heights above the ground separated relatively to permitv simultaneous mooring of two ships at the same time, a multi-storage structure embodied in said terminal and elevator connections between the floorsl of the structure and the mooring stations above, a rotary platform on the outside of the structure vforming part of each mooring station and an adjustable shi mooring connection above each rotary plat orm, whereby the interior ele` vators afford constant communication with the moorin stations and the iloorspof the building an through the mooring station to a ship moored thereto. v

In testimony whereof, I have signed my V name to this application this 5th day of May,

GILBERT BETANCOURT. 

